Stims

“Stims” – slang we in the Autism community use for self stimulatory behavior. The behavior is done repetitively, with no “real” purpose, only to stimulate the central nervous system. Common stims are rocking, flapping the hands, scratching, blinking, etc. We have recently begun to understand that one of Pookie’s most definable characteristics right now, is in fact, a stim. We were shocked to realize it.

Pookie loves to draw. But he tends to draw the same thing over and over again. For a long time, it was “Arthur Faces,” elaborage smiley faces with teeth, hair, bowties and eyebrows. For months, it has been “Baby Mo.” On dozens of blank pieces of paper a day, Pookie first draws a smiley face with a black crayon…the Baby Einstein logo.

Then he begins to draw in the letters which spell the names of the Baby Einstein DVDs, Baby Neptune, Baby Mozart, Baby Davinci, Baby Bach. He draws the letters in the same color as they are shown on the box. He draws them in the same order as they are draw on the opening credits (not in the order the word is spelled). When he is done, he pushes the paper aside and does another one. Again and again. Its a stim. When he is doing it, he does not like to be interrupted. He will leave the page when he is done, but not before. We can say “finish your Baby Davinci and then come up stairs to brush your teeth” and he will. 5 minutes later, when he is done, he will close his marker box and trot upstairs…but not until he is done.

He can survive without doing his Baby Mos each day, we have seen it. When he is gone all day, he does not need to draw them at the Library or on his placemat at IHOP. But when he is home, he does 20-30 a day. Why? We don’t really know, except that its a stim. Its a behavior that serves a purpose in his mind. We think he does it to provide himself with a calm environment. He has done it more since Giggles was born and lots more since school got out for the Summer. Personally, I will not ever stop him from doing it, but I do want to keep it from taking up huge chunks of his day. Right now, he does Baby Mo about an hour a day. That’s fine. Its usually not one solid block of time, he breaks it up into a few sessions. I do not want to see it become any more than that, only because it will take away from the other things he should be doing.

I will admit, its hard to pull him away from his Baby Mo. He likes doing it. It makes him happy. He sits so quietly and works so contentedly on each picture. He clearly does them for a reason, not just to waste time. I see him hurry up and try to finish one, when he thinks I am coming to interrupt him. When we sit together and talk about other things we can draw, I see him pick up the black crayon (the first step in a Baby Mo), look at me and move his hand slowly towards the paper, seeing if I will say “No Baby Mo right now.”

But, its important that we balance Baby Mo with other things. Summer is such a weird time. Its just a waiting game for Pookie. He wants to be in school. We try to do school things at home, but he knows its not the same. That adds to his Baby Mo too. I think we just need to get through the Summer. I have a feeling the Baby Mos will quiet down in the Fall.

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